South of France in summer

https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/provence-guidebook would be a good place to start

Thank you. I will get it.

@balso Do you have any suggestions? Your plans always works for us.

Thank you for the kind word!

It is an amazing time to travel in Provence, since it coincides with the lavender bloom, and big summer crowds only arrive around 6-7 July, which is the start of school holidays. The one downside is that it can be hot. AC is highly recommended.
With 12 nights, I would pick no more than 3 bases.

Assuming Marseille airport as a starting point, and assuming a rental car, you could do:
- 3 nights in Cassis
- 4 nights around Ste Croix lake, ideally in/near Moustiers or cheaper Aups: explore the Verdon gorge, the lavender fields around Valensole, enjoy lake activities (swimming, pedalo in the gorge, electric boats on the lake), explore small villages south of the lake
- 5 nights in St Rémy de Provence (or other village in the vicinity: Eygalières is super cute, for example), a great base for places like Arles, the Camargue, the Luberon villages (more of a drive), etc.

The Avignon theater festival will be on; I would avoid Avignon at that time since there is usually very little of interest for non-French speakers and it makes the city REAL crowded.

I just saw your message @balso. Thank you. This will get me started.

This itinerary looks great. Is there some beach town along the way/trip that we can cool off for couple days?
Should I add little more of French Riveria for that? Spending 2 days around the beach covers the kids side of wishes.

It is going to be very hot and humid. I would advise booking hotels with ac and a pool and/or a beach. We stayed at Le Mas d’Aigret which is at the foot of Les Baux near St. Remy. They have a pool. It is at the foot of the fortress and you can walk up to the fortress from there. I think the boys will enjoy seeing the trebuchet in action in Les Baux and wandering around the fortress ruins. The Carrieres de Lumieres is nearby and is a welcome relief from the heat. Cassis as suggested by Balso is also nice and there is a nice beach. You can take the boys for a boat ride to the Calanques and drive up to the Route des Cretes for the views (just don’t get too close to the cliff edge).

we stayed along the Riviera in the town Beaulieu Sur Mer, which is anout 6 miles from Nice. We walk the coastal trails most days. Lots of beach access and beautiful scenery. Interested in more information. Let me know.